


Origin Story

by HylianEngineer



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Apollo Cabin - Freeform, Canon-Typical Violence, Chapter 1 only has a very minor injury, Child of Apollo (Percy Jackson), Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mostly in Chapter 2, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24666184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HylianEngineer/pseuds/HylianEngineer
Summary: Seven-year-old Amy finds her way to Camp Half-Blood and is welcomed by her fellow children of Apollo / new family. Mostly fluff and hurt/comfort.By popular demand (sort of, it was one FFN comment), this is now a series of one-shots focusing on the origin stories of various demigods, some canon characters, some OCs. The original description above is for chapter one.
Relationships: Apollo Cabin - Relationship, Friendship - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Amy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! This is really mostly self-indulgent and I don’t have much (okay, any) experience writing kids, so if anyone has any tips I’d be grateful. Also, if you'd like to skip the OC stuff, feel free to head over to chapter 2.

Amy runs as fast as her short legs can carry her, branches grabbing at her and monsters snarling behind her, urging her to go faster. It's been two days since the monsters killed her mom, since she's been running. Her dreams told her about a place she would be safe, told her how to get there. She knows her father sent them to her, to protect her. She's never met him, but she can sense him sometimes, keeping an eye on her. 

She's close now, very close. If she can just get to that tree she'll be safe. The monsters are gaining on her. 

Just when she thinks she can't outrun them, something whistles through the air above her head and there's a pained yelp from behind her, followed by several others. And then her foot catches on a rock. 

Pain shoots up her arm as it breaks her fall and tears spring to her eyes. Then there's someone beside her, a dark-skinned boy much older than her, helping her up. And a girl with red hair, about the same age as the boy, stands a few yards away, shooting arrows at the monsters. 

The girl yells to the boy: "Austin, take the kid and run! I'll hold them off until you cross the border!" 

The boy, Austin, is holding Amy's uninjured hand and leading her towards the pine tree. When they reach it, he stops to wait for the girl, who now stands facing only one monster. She knocks an arrow and fires it straight into the creature's eye. Amy watches, shocked, as it turns to dust. 

The girl joins them at the tree. "Hey, kiddo. I'm Kayla, and this is my brother Austin. What's your name?"

Amy stares at her shoes awkwardly as she introduces herself, still clutching her left arm. “My name’s Amy. Thank you for saving me from the monsters.”

“Sure thing, kiddo. Can I take a look at your arm?” She nods and Austin very gently places his hand on her injured arm and closes his eyes in concentration. "It's broken. But don't worry, we'll get it fixed up in no time. C'mon, I'll take you to the infirmary. Kayla's going to tell Chiron you're here- he's the camp activities director."

Amy stares as they walk across camp, her right hand in Austin's left. This place has weird buildings. There's one with grass on the roof, one surrounded by coils of spiky wire, and one that's glowing. There’s a rock wall with lava on it. They stop at a simple white building that has a snake coiled around a staff painted on the side. Inside, there's an older blonde boy sitting at a desk near the doorway, hunched over a book. As they enter, he puts down the book and comes to greet them. 

"Hey, Austin! Who's this?" His voice is cheerful and welcoming.

"Her name's Amy," Austin explains. "Kayla and I found her just outside the border with some Empousa after her. She fell and broke her arm." He turns to the little girl, "Amy, this is my brother Will. He's going to fix your arm, okay? He's the best healer in the whole camp."

Amy eyes Will nervously but allows Austin to lead her to a cot. He picks her up and sets her on the edge of it. 

Will kneels down to her level and sets a hand on her arm, smiling reassuringly. "I promise this won't hurt, but it might feel a little weird."

He closes his eyes and begins singing quietly, something soft and soothing in a language Amy doesn’t know. Her arm begins to feel warm and as Will finishes his song the pain fades. 

"There you go, good as new!" He proclaims.

She flexes her arm cautiously, surprised when she feels no pain. She stares at Will with wide eyes. "...How did you do that?"

"It's a gift from my father," he responds cryptically. "Chiron will explain everything soon."

Austin leads Amy to a sky-blue building he refers to as “The Big House,” where they meet up with Kayla and a man in a wheelchair who is, apparently, Chiron. He explains that Amy’s dad was a Greek god, and that’s why the monsters want to hurt her. That’s why they hurt her mom. She cries as she tells that part of the story, and Kayla and Austin hold her and tell her it wasn’t her fault. 

They tell her that Camp is a safe place for people like her, for demigods, and they introduce her to the Hermes Cabin, where she’s supposed to stay until they find out who her dad is. The leader of the Hermes Cabin is Connor. He’s nice, but Amy misses Austin and Kayla. 

That night, Connor leads the cabin to the campfire. It takes a long time, because Connor has to find lots of people. As soon as they get to the campfire, people start pointing and staring at Amy. No, above her. She looks up at a glowing sun above her head. Austin is looking at her from the other side of the fire, and he’s smiling. He comes up to her and says, “Hey, kiddo. Guess this means you’re my little sister.” He ruffles her hair. She hugs him tight, tears streaming down her cheeks. She thought her mom was her only family, but now she has siblings. She’s not alone anymore. He holds her close as she cries and rubs her back, whispering. “Shh, little sis, it’s alright. I’ve got you. I know it’s a lot.” 

He carries her over to the rest of the Apollo cabin and sits on a log with Amy in his lap. Kayla brings them s’mores, still hot and melty, and she sits with them and tells funny stories that make Austin blush. One by one her other siblings come to introduce themselves- Abi is all bright colors and energy and joyous laughter, Logan is sweet but shy, and Grace doesn't say much, but she’s kind and her smile is warm. Will leads the whole camp in a singalong- some goofy song that makes Amy laugh. His voice is awful, but he’s loud and enthusiastic. 

Amy falls asleep on Austin’s lap. She wakes up the next morning in the Apollo cabin, surrounded by her new family. She thinks she’s going to like it here.


	2. Katie Gardner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone on FFN suggested that this be a series, with the origin stories of various demigods, and I had Ideas. So here's a bonus chapter.

Katie’s heart pounded like a drumbeat in her chest. Her throat was raw and she was gasping for air. The  _ thing _ crashing through the brush behind her was undeterred; the rhythmic clank-stomp, clank-stomp of its feet was as fast as ever. Her guide, Bert, had run in a different direction to distract the others, and there had been no sign of him since.  _ Look for the pine tree on the hill _ , he has said.  _ If you can reach the border, you’ll be safe _ .

Katie could just see the hill in the distance. She was nearly there. And then razor-sharp claws slashed across her back. 

She cried out in pain and fear, falling to her knees, and then there was a roaring sound in her ears and a tugging sensation in her stomach. And around her the trees moved, their roots wrapping around the metal-and-donkey-footed creature, restraining it.

For a moment she was too shocked to move, and then a vine tugged gently at her wrist, urging her towards the hill. She stumbled to her feet and kept running. 

As she got closer, her vision started getting fuzzy around the edges. By the time she reached the tree, she was too dizzy to stand and collapsed at its base, trying to force the world to stop spinning. There was shouting, and she heard footsteps running towards her, and then everything went black.

When she woke up, she was lying on something soft, on her stomach. Her back was sore where the monster had clawed her. She felt like her mouth was full of cotton. Slowly, she gathered the energy to open her eyes. Beside her was a sort of gold blur which after a moment resolved itself into a boy. He was around her age, with shaggy blond hair, and he was staring at her. She attempted to ask who he was, but it came out as sort of a groan.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe here.” His voice was warm and soft, like sunshine or an old quilt. “I’m Will.”

Katie wasn’t really sure what to make of that, so she bought time by attempting to drag herself upright. Her limbs felt like jello and the wounds on her back screamed at the movement. 

“Careful there.” Will was at her side in an instant, helping her sit up. She was embarrassed by both her weakness and his proximity, but Will seemed unaffected. Either he was used to this sort of thing, or he was a damn good actor.

“Here, drink this, it’ll help.” He offered her a cup of what appeared to be apple juice, helping her hold onto it as her hands shook. She took a sip and almost spit it out when she realized the liquid was  _ not _ juice. It tasted like her dad’s chicken soup. 

“It’s nectar, the drink of the gods,” Will explained. He looked amused by her baffled expression, but not in an unkind way. “It heals demigods, although it can also be dangerous in large quantities. It tastes different to each of us, like your favorite comfort food.”

Katie’s head was spinning by this point. This was all so new and weird. “D-demigods?”

Will nodded, looking as calm as if they were talking about the weather, “Half-human, half Greek-god. My dad’s Apollo, god of the sun, healing, music, and a few other things. He’s a bit indecisive.”

“You’re saying my mom was.... A goddess?” 

“She claimed you as soon as you got here. Demeter, goddess of agriculture. Although from what Bert, your satyr, told us it would have been pretty obvious anyway. That was an impressive move, manipulating the tree roots like that, but you need to be careful about overusing those powers. You passed out from magical exhaustion.”

Katie was silent, processing this information. After seeing that monster, she was willing to believe a lot of things she would have laughed at a week ago; and it did explain a few things. She had always loved plants, and they seemed to grow faster in her presence. And there had been an incident when she was younger, running from a bully only to have a tree branch slap her pursuer in the face. She could have sworn it wasn’t there before, but convinced herself she just hadn't been paying attention. Now it seemed there really had been something strange going on.

Her father had never said much about her mom, only that she was beautiful and kind and that she had loved them. Nothing about where she was or why she left. Katie supposed goddesses must have responsibilities and such, but what could be more important than your own kid? Still, if her mom had “claimed” her, whatever that meant, that must mean she cared about her in some way, right?

Will's expression was sympathetic: “I know it’s a lot to take in. If you’re feeling up to it, how about I show you your cabin? Your siblings are waiting to meet you.”

Katie blinked. “I have siblings?!”

“ Half-siblings, technically,” Will shrugged. “Counting you, there are 4 children of Demeter at camp right now. C’mon, I’ll introduce you.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read this far, you are awesome. I hope you enjoyed; please feel free to leave a kudos and/or comment!


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